Fire-starter.



No. 894,822. PATENTED AUG. 4, 190a. L G. H. FISHER.

I FIRE STARTER. APPLIOATIIOR FILED OUT. 1, 1907.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

az-xiskor Q I i M cutaway;

PATENTED AUG. 4, 1909.

' G. H.PISHER.

FIRE STARTER. APPLICATION mum 00121, 1907.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

I atmauyl GEORGE E. FISHER, OF SORANTON, PENNSYLVANIA.

Specification of Letters Patent.

' Patented Aug. 4, 1908.

Application filed October 1, 1907. Serial No. 395,432.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE H. FISHER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Scranton, in the county of Lackawanna and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fire- Sta'rters, of which the following is a specification.

This invention contemplates certain new and useful improvements in means for automatically starting up a fire at a predetermined time, by regulating or moving to the desired position the several doors and dampers of afurnace or other stove, through the instrumentality or primary actuation of an alarm clock, and the invention has for its object a simple, durable and efi icient c0nstruotion of apparatus of this character which will be positive in its operation and insure the regulation of the drafts, thereby relieving the servant or householder from the discomfort of arising early in the morning for the purpose of manually opening or increasing the draft of the stove.

Withthese and other objects in view as will more fully appear as the description proceeds, the inventionconsists in certain constructions, arrangements and combinations of parts that I shall hereinafter fully describe and then point out the novel features in the appended claims.

For a full understanding of the invention, reference is to be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a furnace equipped with the improvements of my invention; Fig. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the apparatus; Fig. 3 is a front elevation thereof illustrating an arrangement of parts of which the invention is susceptible;

and, Fig. 4 is a detail view of a modification hereinafter referred to.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and indicated in all the views of the drawings by the same reference characters.

My improved fire starter comprises a supporting member 1 of any desired design or construction, the same preferably consisting of a board or plate which may be screwed or otherwise secured in an elevated position to a wall or other support in convenient proximity to the furnace or stove, the drafts of which the apparatus is intended to control.

2 designates a releasing device, which, in

pose.

the present instance, is shown as composed of a strip of suitably strong wire bent at intermediate points to form a series of detents 3, and having one end extended to provide an arm 4. This releasing device is mounted to tilt or turn in bearings 5 preferably located at or near the lower end of the main supporting member 1, and in order to keep the releasing device with its detents extending more or less in an upward direction for the purpose hereinafter described, a chain or similar connection 6 is secured at one end to the free end of the arm 5 and is provided at its other end with a loop or eye 7 designed to be slipped over the alarm Winding handle 8 of an alarm clock 9, which latter may be secured with its face towards the supporting member 1 on the hook 10 or similar device secured to said supporting member. When not in use, the loop or eye 7 may be slipped over and removably held on the hook or nail 7 projecting from the main supporting member.

Sheaves or pulleys 11 are secured in any desired way to the supporting member 1, and any desired number of cables are extended over the pulleys of said sheaves, according to the particular requirements of the case, or the members or parts of the stove that are to be operated by my apparatus. By the use of the word cables in this connection, it is to be understood that the term includes chains, cords, or ropes, or wires, or in fact any flexible connection suitable for the pur- One of these cables, designated 12, extends over pulleys 13 secured to an elevated support such as a joist or ceiling, and said cable is connected atone end in any desired way to the ashpit door 14 of the furnace or stove. Another cable 15 is provided at one end with a hook 16 designed for detachable engagement in the free end of the fuel door 17. But, if desired, it is obvious that the hook 16 may be secured to the slide in the fuel door, so as to close such slide in the already-closed door instead of swinging the door from an open to a closed position. A third cable 18 has a block or strut 19 secured to it at one end, the same being made of metal or wood, or of any desired material and construction, such strut being designed for insertion underneath the damper 20 for the chimney draft so as to hold the chimney draft open to the atmosphere, until it is de-' sired to close the same by the use of my apparatus or it may, without the strut, be

fastened to such damper to lift or pull it shut.

21 designates an extra chain, and there may be any number of these extra chains, so that the device may be applied to a furnace or stove with four or more draft controlling doors or dampers,

Weights 22 are secured to the other ends of the respective cables 12, 15, 18 and 21, and swivel eyes, or loops, 23 are also secured to the respective cables at intermediate points in the length thereof and are designed tobe slipped over the several detents 3 of the releasing device, so as to hold the weights in an inactive suspended condition.

In the practical operation of my improved fire starting apparatus, the several cables are secured to the respective parts that they are designed to control. For instance, the cable 12 is secured to the ash-pit door 14 with the latter in closed position, the cable 15 is se cured to the fuel door with the latter in open position, and the strut 19 is inserted underneath the damper 20 of the chimney draft, so as to hold the same open to the atmosphere. then slipped over their respective detents, it being understood that the releasing device is in its normally raised position at this time, with the detents pointing more or less upwardly, so as to prevent the accidental removal or detachment of the several loops 23 and that the said releasing device is held in such position by the loop or eye 7 being slipped over and removably held upon the alarm winding handle 8 of the clock 9.

From the foregoing description in connection with the accompanying drawings, it will be understood that after the alarm has been wound and set, and the parts arranged as just described, the alarm 'inding handle 8 will commence to rotate, as is customary, as soon as the alarm is set in operation. This will obviously cause the loop 7 to become disengaged from said handle and thus effect the release of the holding means for the weight releasing device 2, and the latterwill be turned by gravity in a direction to permit the several swivel eyes or loops 23 to slip off of their respective detents and in turn effect, through the instrumentality of the several weights 22, the simultaneous movement of the ash-pit door to the open position, and the fuel door and damper for the chimney draft to "the closed position, thereby establishing the proper draft in the furnace or stove to increase, combustion.

It is to be understood that my invention is not limited to the exact construction of the releasing device herein shown, nor to the number of cables and concomitant parts employed, nor to the use of weights, as springs may be manifestly substituted for the weights, being a true equivalent thereof and that various other changes may be made in the size, construction and proportion of the parts, within the scope of the appended The swivel eyes, or loops, 23 areclaims. It is also within the purview of my invention to operatetwo or more of the -lire starters from an alarm clock common to them all. Fig. 3 illustrates such an arrangement of parts in which 25 designatesa cable extending from, say, the fire starter of the cooking stove, and operated by one of the weights or springs of such fire starter, and operatively connected. to the releasing device of the furnace fire starter, so that the latter will be automatically actuated upon the operation of the stove lire starter.

By the use of a weight for each draft, the necessity of accurate adjustment is obviated, such as is necessary where draft regulating devices have to be balanced through a connecting chain, which is a method of adjustment too difficult for the average person. The use of a weight for each draft insures the elficient operation of each draft, regardless of any fine adjustment, and also makes it possible to effectively meet the requirements of different kinds of weather, as one or more of the weights may be hung on a suitable nail or hook, thus obviating the necessity of having the drafts put on and the fire started up to a greater extent than might be necessary in mornings when it is not very cold.

As one modification of the releasing device, reference is to be had to Fig. 4 wherein 2 designates the releasing device formed with. its releasing arm 4 at an intermediate point with its detents 3" on two oppositely extending branches.

t will thus be seen that I have provided by my invention, a very simple and ellicient device or ap )aratus for actuating the several draft controlling doors or dampers of a stove or furnace of any character at a predetermined time, and that the device may be very cheaply manufactured and easily installed at a slight expense, such expense being considerably more than compensated for by the conveniences and comforts afforded by the use of the apparatus.

While I have herein described and shown my invention as designed particularly for use in starting up fires, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to this use, as it is applicable for use 111 producing motion. to

devices or parts of devices or apparatus of any sort whatever, where it is desired that such motion take place at a predetermined time.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A device of the character described, comprising a supporting plate provided. with means for supporting an alarm clock, an alarm clock suspended from said plate and. provided with an alarm turning handle, a releasing device journaled on the lower end of said supporting plate and provided with a detent and an angularly disposed arm, a cable secured at one end to the free end of said arm and provided at its other end with a loop designed to be slipped over the alarm winding handle of the clock, a pulley supported on said plate, a cable passing through said pulley and arranged to be secured to the part to be operated, a weight secured to one end of said cable, a loop secured to said cable and adapted to be slipped over the detent, and a hook secured to the supporting plate above the releasing device and designed for engagement by the loop of the arm holding cab e whereby to hold the device in an inoperative position.-

2. A device of the character described comprising a supporting plate, an alarm clock supported thereby and provided with an alarm turning handle, a releasing device journaled on said supporting plate and con' sisting of a strip of wire doubled upon itself intermediate of its ends to form a detent and bent angularly to form an arm, a connecting member secured at one end to-said arm and provided at the other end with a loop arranged to be slipped over the alarm turning handle of the clock, a pulley supported on the plate,-a cable running over said pulley and arranged to be secured at one end to the part to be operated, a weight secured to the other end of said cable,'and a loop secured to said cable and adapted to be slipped over the detent.

3. A device of the character described, comprising. a supporting plate arranged to be held in a vertical position, and provided at its upper end with means for suspending an alarm clock, an alarm clock sus ended from such means and provided wit an alarmturning handle, a pulley suspended from the plate below the clock, a releasing device journaled on the supporting plate below the pulley and rovided with a detent and an angularly disposed arm, a cablesecured toone end of said arm, a loop secured to said cable and adapted to be slip ed over the handle, a hook secured to sai plate above the arm and designed for the engagement of said loop whereby to hold the device in an inoperative condition, a weighted cable passing over said pulley and arranged to be connected to a draft 0 erating device of a stove, and a loop secure to said last named cable and designed to be slipped over said detent. In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

GEORGE H. FISHER. Witnesses:

FRANK LAMBADER, M. MORAN. 

